Top 5 Healthy Tips for a Joyous Colorado Summer

Unfortunately, so much outdoor activity can end up in accidents and injuries at times. From sunburn to sprained joints, it’s important to safeguard your activities as much as possible to ensure your safety and the safety of everyone else participating. Here are our top five tips for surviving summertime unscathed:

1. Make hydration your top priority. Since it’s summer, you’ll be sweating a lot more than during other seasons, for the most part, but also: you’re in Colorado, so you’re around a mile or more closer to the sun than in other places around the country. We live in an alpine desert, and the elevation in particular creates a major battle to stay hydrated. Make sure you are properly hydrated, too: if you’re only drinking water and starting to feel a little woozy, it’s probably time to switch to an electrolyte drink instead of only water.

Drinking too much water can throw off your electrolyte balance, and while it’s generally difficult to do that, hot, sweaty activities at altitude are just the ticket for such a concern to arise. Start every day with an 8 oz glass of water and keep a water bottle or water and electrolytes near you throughout the day and drink as often as you think to do so. Altitude sickness can progress quickly from feeling a little tired and sluggish on the trail to having to be carried down and hospitalized, so take it easy, don’t overdo it, and make water and electrolytes your best friends. 

2. Enjoy the sun…responsibly. Laying out in the Colorado sunshine is a simple recipe for summertime bliss. Again, however, our proximity to the sun, the thinness of the air surrounding us and our tender human skin don’t offer enough protection from the mighty sun’s rays, so plan accordingly. Wear sunscreen daily, and reapply it often when enjoying outdoor activities of any kinds, but especially those involving water and/or lots of sweating! Take your time easing into activities and keep them at an enjoyable pace without straining yourself too hard so that you can enjoy the sun without accidentally giving yourself heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

3. Eat light and fresh all season long. Summer brings with it such a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables as to make the other seasons jealous with their paltry offerings. From Palisade peaches to cherries, berries and grapes, to a wealth of melons in every color and size, to fresh, crunchy salad greens and veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and so much more, eating like the king of freshness is easy to accomplish. Availing yourself of fresh produce so close to home makes it even better, with farmer’s markets all over the state bringing the bounty of farm freshness to the public weekly or even more frequently. Delight in the flavors of the season while attending to your waistline by eating light and fresh all summer long. 

4. Move your body! With so much of the day available to you for the activities you enjoy the most, get out and get going! Plan an early morning run or ride to maximize the time you have before work, a quick lunchtime hike, and a rock climb or swim in a reservoir following the end of your workday! Stay energized throughout the day by munching on high-quality lunches and snacks, and nutritious fruits and veggies. Plan your activities to take place during less-intense weather; in other words, if that lunchtime hike is looking to be brutally hot, skip it or perhaps do a gym workout and then complete that hike after work instead. 

5. Exercise caution. Injury is the number one way to ruin an otherwise perfect summer. Because you don’t wish to be laid up with a broken bone or sprained joint, take it easy and watch what your feet are doing. Make sure you wear the proper attire and footwear for the activity you’re jumping into, and if you don’t have that, it’s okay to sit on the sidelines for a day. If you have equipment that can work for what you’re doing, you can certainly try it out, but truly, exercise an abundance of caution. Make sure you are properly hydrating, sunscreening and that you are appropriately dressed for the activities of the day.

What do you think of these top five tips for enjoying the summer at altitude? What kinds of tips and tricks do you rely on for a safe and enjoyable summer?